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How do I add a Category?

Last Updated: Sep 12, 2018 09:44AM BRT

The eDirectory system allows for the Site Manager to manually add categories and sub-categories to Listings, Events, Classifieds, Articles and Blog Modules. Since each module is a stand alone module, the Site Manager can have a unique set of categories and sub-categories for each module.

Each module, aside from the Blog Module, allows for a maximum of 5 tiers in the categorical hierarchy. The blog module allows just one category tier.

1. Please log into your Site Manager Administration Panel
2. Got to Content Manager and click the module you wish to add the category into. Then click on 'Manage Categories'

3. If you want to add a category individually, click on + Add Categories. If you want to bulk add multiple categories, click on +Add Multiple Categories.

4. If you opted to add a single category individually, you will be re-directed to the Category Information page where you can add and configure the information needed for the category. Please be sure to indicate the following details:

Title - Title that will be displayed for the category that members can select

Featured - Check this box if you would like this category to be visible and a search option through the front of the directory

Disable Category - Disables the category from the front end of the directory, however, this does not delete it from the database.

Keywords for Search - The searching terms added into this field are directly related to the findings from the 'Keyword' search field on the front of your directory.

Image - Upload a custom image for your category. This image will appear on the home page under browse by category section. If you leave it blank, the default image will be displayed instead.

Each Category and Sub-Category that is added in the database has the option for additional Search Engine Optimization. The system will automatically create the 'Page Title' and 'Friendly Title' for you and will leave the options for Meta Description and Meta Keywords open for you input. The information you place into these two fields will be visible to search engines inside the source code of the software and is important to assist in improving your search results ranking within search engines.

The final piece that the Site Manager has the capability to add is some additional text content to be displayed at the top of a category results page. This content can be added via a .html WYSIWYG editor. You are not required to have any .html knowledge to use this editor it will automatically do the conversion to .html for you.

Click 'Save Changes'. Once the category has been added and set as 'Featured' you will it will be shown on the homepage of your directory under the 'Browse by Category' widget. Please keep in mind that the browse by category widget must be added to the page and the category must contain at least one active listing. Categories that don't contain any listings won't be shown.

If you choose to bulk add multiple categories, a pop up window will appear. You can type your categories in that window (or copy paste from another location) and click Add Categories when ready. If you want to display these categories on the home page, make sure to select "Set all new categories as featured categories." Otherwise, the categories won't appear on the home page. If you want to add subcategories, please type them exactly in this format: Category Name->Subcategory Name

Keep in mind that if you want to add custom content like description, image, SEO, etc. you will have to edit each category individually. To edit a category, hover your mouse over that category and click Edit. You can also use the same method to delete a category or add subcategories in that category. If you want to view the subcategories inside a category, you can click the folder icon on the left.